Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Young Zen Master said while looking at him quietly, “If Immortal went to Cloudy Town, the Green Mountain Sect would become nervous; so the things will get nasty in the human world.”
“I want to go there exactly for the sake of the human world,” said the Immortal Tan imperturbably.
After a moment of silence, the Young Zen Master said, “I have some idea of what you are going to do there. I’m surprised and also admirable about your intention. I’ll write the letter for you.”
“Thanks,” said the Immortal Tan.
Soon after, the Immortal Tan got the letter and left the Fruit Formation Temple.
The Escape Method of Heaven and Earth of the Center Sect was unparalleled in the world. He didn’t need to ride in a cloud boat because of his extraordinary Cultivation state; he simply leapt into the sky.
The crops in the fields looked lush in spring, but the harvest was still not in sight; the saying “The green crops are far from ripe” described the situation perfectly.
The horse-drawn carriages were still crowded by the sides of the official road outside the Fruit Formation Temple, and the tents were extended as far as the eyes could see. Many stalls that offered free porridges could be seen nearby.
This was the tradition of Moqiu. Led by the Governor of Moqiu and helped by all the wealthy merchants, the food supply was guaranteed for the time being.
Standing in the sky, the Immortal Tan looked down at the scene and the cooking smoke coming out of those porridge stalls, thinking that the human world should be as passionate as such.
…
…
There were other important figures in heaven and earth. No matter how secretive the Escape Method was, it was impossible for anyone to become completely invisible, especially when they were close to the Great Formation of Green Mountain.
Two formidable and powerful sword lights flew out from the deep part of Green Mountain one after the other.
Fang Jingtian and the Immortal Guangyuan who had come back from the West Ocean guarded the both ends of Green Mountain in the sky, about seventy miles apart.
The wind and snow were approaching at an unimaginably fast speed.
The Three-Foot Sword came out from the wind and snow.
Yuan Qijing stood on the sword, looking eastward.
The three most powerful swordsmen of Green Mountain came out. They didn’t do it as a welcome gesture, nor did they do it for showing their respect.
As the clouds dispersed in the sky, the Immortal Tan appeared.
Yuan Qijing asked emotionlessly, “Immortal Tan came without our invitation. Do you intend to start a war with Green Mountain?”
The Immortal Tan said, “This place is not Green Mountain, though it is close.”
“We have a problem simply because it’s close to Green Mountain,” said Yuan Qijing.
The Immortal Tan said, “Zhaoge City is close to Cloud-Dream Mountain, but you people have never asked for my permission when you went to Zhaoge City.”
Yuan Qijing asked after a pause, “What did you come here for?”
“To see a person,” the Immortal Tan said.
…
…
The Immortal Tan landed in Cloudy Town. He went to that restaurant famous for its hotpot.
He couldn’t figure out the value of the hotpot after eating it, nor did he sense anything there. He got up, heading to the outskirts of the town.
A path outside the town led to the cliff that was shrouded in the clouds and fog all year long.
Many Cultivation practitioners had already left. Those steadfast practitioners didn’t dare get close to that patch of cloud and fog due to the warning of the Green Mountain Sect. All they could do was watch the place from far away inside the town, like the young girls who fell in love but dared not approach their loved ones. Seeing the Immortal Tan head toward the patch of cloud and fog, those practitioners wondered if this old man in gray clothing was an idiot.
The density of the fog was various in different areas, similar to the colors of the flowering trees and the koi carps in the stream.
The sceneries of this sort couldn’t draw attention of the Immortal Tan for a fleeting moment. He kept on heading to the inside of the fog.
The fog became thinner, and the flowering trees swayed gently in the wind. Some koi carps swam away in terror, and more of them swam along with him, acting like his followers.
He walked upstream before he saw a manor house.
Seeing this, the Cultivation practitioners in the town were stunned speechless.
What was more shocking was that the gate of the manor house was opened from inside.
After the pair of master and disciple of the Mysterious Heaven Sect, Scenery Garden received another guest; this time, Zhao Layue and the others came out and welcomed him.
Who was this old man in gray clothing?
…
…
The scenery in the manor house was far more beautiful than outside; however, these young people were more pleasing to the eyes of the Immortal Tan.
In his eyes, Zhao Layue and Zhuo Rusui were the most beautiful things in the world.
They were the future of the Green Mountain Sect, and nobody could deny that they were also the future of Chaotian.
If they could become the future of the Center Sect, it would be the best deal in the world.
Zhao Layue and the others had no idea what the Immortal Tan was thinking about, but they felt the expression in the eyes of this important figure was a bit strange. They were alarmed as if they faced a formidable foe.
The sect master of the Center Sect had a very special status; but what did he intend to do by coming to Cloudy Town in person?
Not to mention these young disciples of Green Mountain, Jing Jiu had even displayed sufficient respect to the Immortal Tan.
He stood up from the bamboo chair in advance.
The Immortal Tan handed him the letter written by the Young Zen Master, and said directly, “I’m here to propose a marriage.”
It was evident that he tried his best to appear amiable and to be more like an old father desiring the happiness for his beloved daughter; but he couldn’t manage a smile because of his strict temperament. The expression on his face looked a bit weird.
The expressions of Zhuo Rusui, Gu Qing and Yuan Qü were even weirder; they looked like they had just swallowed three thousand swords. They stole a glance at Zhao Layue reflexively.
Zhao Layue’s reaction was completely unexpected. “What are the conditions?” she asked.
The Immortal Tan shot a glance at her appreciatively before saying to Jing Jiu, “If you join us, I’ll marry Little Zao to you and hand the post of sect master to you.”
After some thought, Zhao Layue said to Jing Jiu, “I think it’s a good deal.”
It turned out that the Immortal Tan wanted Jing Jiu to go to Cloud-Dream Mountain and become the sect master of the Center Sect.
It was not just a marriage proposal; he was obviously trying to snatch Jing Jiu from Green Mountain. And the conditions…well, they were unheard of in a Cultivation circle.
The Center Sect had demonstrated a sincere intent and determination. If Jing Jiu were any other Cultivation practitioner, he would have accepted the offer or at least given it a serious consideration, provided that he hadn’t passed out because of the overwhelming feeling of happiness.
Yet, Jing Jiu refused it without a second thought, “I’m the Sect Master of Green Mountain, but thank you anyway.”
It was an adequate reason for refusal. The sect master of Green Mountain was as powerful as that of the Center Sect; why would he want to join the Center Sect?
However…apart from Jing Jiu himself, who still considered him as the sect master of Green Mountain at the moment?
“The Immortal Taiping wants to kill you, and those on Green Mountain have no intention of seeing you live.”
The Immortal Tan continued, “And you’ll have some unsolvable issues in your Cultivation. What will you do after the departure of Yuan Qijing?”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Layue and the others looked at Jing Jiu, feeling worried.
The Immortal Tan was the most outstanding figure in the Cultivation circle of Chaotian. If he thought Jing Jiu had some issues in Cultivation, it must be true.
“If you agreed with my proposal, I would provide you with a Fairy Book, which should be enough for your purpose.”
The Immortal Tan continued, “Of course, it won’t be the same kind as the one you obtained in the Dao Competition.”
“I’m fine right now,” said Jing Jiu, without giving the proposal any consideration.
The Immortal Tan said, “I’m not making the proposal for now. If you’ve changed your mind, let me know.”
Having said that, he left the manor house. He leapt into the sky by tabbing his toes slightly on the flowering tree.
He nodded toward Green Mountain to bid his farewell while standing on top of a cloud. He then turned to the north, becoming a dark dot among heaven and earth in an instant.
The wind and snow disappeared in the sky, and Yuan Qijing returned to Shangde Peak on his Three-Foot Sword.
Fang Jingtian and the Immortal Guangyuan met in the sky. They felt relieved when they saw the dark dot disappearing into the horizon.
“He comes as he wishes and leave as he wishes. Does he think our Green Mountain is nothing?”
Fang Jingtian added, “I’d like to go there and have a look.”
The Immortal Guangyuan reminded him, “Cloudy Town is your forbidden site.”
Fang Jingtian said, “The Sect Master of the Center Sect came to Green Mountain to meet that devil; shouldn’t we be on guard?”
The Immortal Guangyuan stared into his eyes and said, “Big Brother said nobody is allowed to harm that person.”
“The White Ghost is there; how can I harm him?” retorted Fang Jingtian with an emotionless expression in his eyes, his silvery eyebrows ruffling slightly.
The Immortal Guangyuan sighed, thinking that he could easily harm others even if he couldn’t harm Jing Jiu.
The Immortal Tan came.
Then he left.
He had made a few statements.
The statements contained a marriage proposal, the Immortal Taiping, and the sect master of the Center Sect.
The surprising thunder was always hidden in the usual matters.
Gu Qing and Yuan Qü hadn’t come back to their senses even after a long while.
“Though the Immortal Tan is the Sect Master of the Center Sect, the whole of Chaotian knows that the Bai family is the actual ruler of Cloud-Dream Mountain.”
Zhuo Rusui remarked, “I think that the Immortal Tan intends to use Grandmaster to change the situation because he doesn’t want the Center Sect to be the property of the Bai family forever.”
Zhao Layue hesitated for a moment and said, “I think this should be Bai Zao’s idea.”
She was fully aware that that feeble woman was deeply in love with Jing Jiu even though she appeared imperturbable.
Regardless of what kind of a scheme was hidden in the invitation of the Immortal Tan, a part of it must be planned by Bai Zao for the benefit of Jing Jiu.
Jing Jiu wouldn’t concern himself with such a matter, nor would he spend time calculating it. Seeing them so concerned about it, he said, “Go ask Tong Yan.”
The person who knew the internal situation of the Center Sect the most was none other than Tong Yan.
“Bring out that little child of the Underworld. Find out if Tong Yan wants to come out after asking him that question,” he said to Yuan Qü.
Yuan Qü complied. Thinking of another matter, he asked, “Young Brother is still on the Sword Peak; should I inform him?”
“Wait until he wakes up by himself,” said Jing Jiu.
Gu Qing said, “I have something to take care of, so I need to go out.”
Jing Jiu knew what Gu Qing talked about, and said, “Come back after you’re done.”
…
…
The formation in Scenery Garden was designed by Jing Jiu personally and set up by Gu Qing. The Immortal Tan could disregard the existence of the formation, but it would take some time for them to get out of it.
As they came to a green rock by the stream, Gu Qing was about to dismantle the formation. Zhao Layue suddenly asked him, “Do you think you can handle it yourself?”
It was impossible for Gu Qing to conceal anything from Zhao Layue, so he said worriedly, “I might encounter some troubles.”
Zhao Layue looked at Zhuo Rusui and said, “You go help him.”
Zhuo Rusui knew it was a troublesome matter, so he said in annoyance, “Why me? I’m a disciple of Tianguang Peak, not a member of Shenmo Peak.”
“You’re a member of Scenery Garden now,” snapped Zhao Layue.
…
…
The proposal of the Immortal Tan was not intended be accepted immediately, which indicated that he was fully aware that Scenery Garden wouldn’t be always as peaceful as it was now.
This was a prophecy.
The predicted future would often be realized sooner than anticipated.
The wind and rain would often come without any warning.
The Green Mountain Sect had gradually returned to normality after the initial chaos and aimlessness.
Yuan Qijing was in charge of the sect rules and disciplines as usual on Shangde Peak.
The rules set by Jing Jiu had been mostly changed by Fang Jingtian.
The disciples of Liangwang Peak could get out of Green Mountain freely. Jian Ruyun and those young disciples who had opposed Jing Jiu becoming the sect master of Green Mountain were released from the Sword Jail. However, Bai Rujing’s arms were cut off, and his meridians were sealed off by the sword wills of the Thoughtless Sword and couldn’t be mended. He was by and large a useless person now.
The clans that had connections with Shenmo Peak were affected the most by the departure of the people of Shenmo Peak, like the Gu Clan and the Precious-Tree House.
Gu Qing and Zhuo Rusui went to Nanhezhou after they left Cloudy Town, and landed on the top floor of the yellow building in Chaonan City.
The owner of the Precious-Tree House knelt before the two of them, reporting what had happened in the last ten days as quickly as he could.
According to the agreement between Jing Jiu and Ada, Shenmo Peak and Bihu Peak would share the resources of the Precious-Tree House half and half, but Bihu Peak was only allowed to receive the dividends and other benefits but not to make any decisions about the running of the business. After the people of Shenmo Peak left Green Mountain, Bihu Peak didn’t make any fuss, and it was the other peaks that had raised some specific demands. The resources of the Precious-Tree House and their collected precious medicines and magic treasures were not allowed to send to Shenmo Peak; instead, they had to be sent to the nine peaks for redistribution.
“The quotas for each peak will be finalized tomorrow; it’s the deadline set by Green Mountain.”
In a little more than ten days, the owner of the Precious-Tree House had lost so much weight that he didn’t look the same person anymore. “I’ve reached a dead end now,” he said in a hoarse voice.
